Val Kilmer Died in 2025. An AI Version of Him Fills 77 Minutes of This Film.

'As Deep as the Grave' released nearly seven minutes of generative-AI footage of the late actor on August 19, 2026. The producers say the family approved it, the estate was paid, and the AI work cost in the thousands of dollars.

Nearly seven minutes of a generative-AI Val Kilmer performance are now public. The clip comes from the historical drama “As Deep as the Grave” and was released on August 19, 2026. It was published by IndieWire, which reported the story first.

Those seven minutes are a sample of a much larger commitment. The AI-generated Kilmer will appear in “the ballpark” of an hour and 17 minutes — about 77 minutes — of a cut that currently runs over three hours, IndieWire reported. Producer John Voorhees put the cost of the AI work at figures in the thousands of dollars, the outlet reported, on a film its makers describe as low-budget.

That combination is why a small independent film matters to a town that sells performances for a living. Los Angeles is a company town for people who appear on camera. The terms under which a dead actor can be rebuilt are the terms that will eventually apply to living ones.

What the producers say about consent

Kilmer had been cast in the film before his death in 2025. He was drawn to it because it is set in the American Southwest, where he lived in New Mexico, IndieWire reported. COVID-related delays and his illness kept him from ever appearing on set. His family, including his children Mercedes and Jack Kilmer, approved the creation of a digital version of their father, the outlet reported. The production relied on SAG guidelines and compensated Kilmer's estate for the appearance, per the same report.

“This process is about consent, collaboration, and compensation,” writer-director Coerte Voorhees told IndieWire.

IndieWire's account does not identify which specific contract provisions the production followed. It does not name who signed the license on the estate's behalf, or say what rights were granted. It also does not address whether performers appearing opposite the digital replica were notified in advance. Those questions are open on the published record.

How the performance was built

The on-screen Kilmer resembles the actor at the height of his 1990s fame, IndieWire reported. Coerte Voorhees said he studied Kilmer's work in “Heat,” “Batman Forever” and “Tombstone” to construct it. The project drew on younger images supplied from Kilmer's personal archive by his family. Footage from his final years was used as well, so the character can age across decades. The audio uses recordings of Kilmer's voice, including from the period after a tracheal procedure damaged it.

In the released clip, the AI Kilmer plays Father Fintan, a priest searching the Navajo Reservation in the early 20th century. His guide is played by Jonathan Nez, former president of the Navajo Nation. The film combines the AI elements with conventionally filmed sequences featuring Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin, IndieWire reported.

Looking for a buyer

The film premiered a trailer at CinemaCon last spring. Coerte Voorhees said he spent most of the summer refining the Kilmer scenes for consistency, the outlet reported. The brothers said they have met with streamers and would like the film to land at one as a demonstration of the technique.

John Voorhees told IndieWire that “we're still the only film that has an A-list celebrity who's given his consent to be an AI character.” That is a claim made by the producers, not one verified in the outlet's report.

Source: indiewire.com, retrieved August 20, 2026.